Paper

A new geological map of Apollo Basin on the Moon has been published by PlanMap consortium members and affiliated researchers. In the plain English summary of the work, the team describes their geological analyses of the northern portion of the South Pole-Aitken basin, which is the largest recognized and likely the oldest impact structure on the Moon.

The results of the mapping efforts permitted the unraveling of the major sequence of impact and volcanic events that have shaped the basin throughout its evolution and the identification of the oldest materials related to the formation of the basin. Analyses of the distribution and concentrations of iron and titanium in the differently aged materials allowed the characterization of the structure of the ancient crust and mantle in the South Pole-Aitken region. These results give important constraints on the current models of the early evolution of the Moon.

The article is available Open Access on JGR-Planets at: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JE005590

Geological mapping data are linked from within the published paper and will soon be available for download and visualisation from the PlanMap Data Portal.

For more information, Please contact Carolyn van der Bogert.